Contributor
Ratliff, Brandie.
Imprint:New York : Metropolitian Museum of Art ; New Haven : Distributed by Yale University Press, c2012.
Descriptionxvii, 332 p. : col. ill., ccol. map ; 31 cm.
Note:Published in conjunction with the wxhibition Byzantium and Islam: age of transition (7th-9th century), held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, March 14-July8, 2012.
Note:Byzantium -- Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition (7th -9th century)/ Helen C. Evans -- Commerce -- "Ornamemts of excellence" from "the miserable gains of commerce" luzury art and Byzantine culture/ Thelma K. Thomas -- Islam -- Country estates, material culture, and the celebration of princely life: Islamic art and the secular domain/ Anna Ballian.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-319) and index.
Note:This magnificent volume explores the epochal transformations and unexpected continuities in the Byzantine Empire from the 7th to the 9th century. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Empire's southern provinces, the vibrant, diverse areas of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, were at the cross roads of exchanges reaching from Spain to China. These regions experienced historic upheavals when their Christian and Jewish communities encountered the emerging Islamic world, and by the 9th century, an unprecedented cross-fertilization of cultures had taken place. This extraordinary asge is brought vividly to life in insightful contributions by leading international scholars, accompanied by sumptuous illustrations of the period's most notable arts and artifacts. Resplendent images of authority, religion, and trade -- embodied in in precious metals, brilliant textiles, fine ivories, elaborate mosaics, manuscripts and icons, many of them never before published, highlight the dynamic dialogue between the rich array of Byzantine styles and the newly forming Islamic aesthetic. With its masterful exploration of two centuries that would shape the emerging medieval world, this illuminating publication provides a unique interpretation of a period that still resonates today.
